Category Archives: Vent

As I sat down at the court building with my brother, I noticed the wall seen in the above photo. It has numerous postings of job opportunities, but for who? Most formerly incarcerated individuals are discriminated against because of their background, which leads to them not obtaining employment. So then what? You are not able to provide for yourself so you get frustrated; you become angry at the world. You commit crimes to survive, to feel better about your situation, or to just release your anger. As a result, you end back in jail; it’s a never ending cycle.

If you continuously miss your appointments with your Parole Officer (P.O.), you could be thrown in jail. What if you do not have money to see your P.O.? That’s a charge. What if you illegally ride the bus or train to try to meet with your P.O. That’s another charge. What what can you do? The Justice System is designed to keep you in; it’s designed to make sure you never succeeded in life.

Waiting to see Patrol Officers

The waiting room is extremely hot, and many of the formerly incarcerated were becoming irritated. Many of them wait for long periods of time and no one ever comes to the front desk. When they knock on the window to get the workers attention they are told to “calm down and take a seat.” They were calm. They are talked down upon as if they are children. I asked if they were always treated this way and they said yes. This is sad to see, and it needs to change.

Like this:

As I sat down at the court building with my brother, I noticed the wall seen in the above photo. It has numerous postings of job opportunities, but for who? Most formerly incarcerated individuals are discriminated against because of their background, which leads to them not obtaining employment. So then what? You are not able to provide for yourself so you get frustrated; you become angry at the world. You commit crimes to survive, to feel better about your situation, or to just release your anger. As a result, you end back in jail; it’s a never ending cycle.

If you continuously miss your appointments with your Parole Officer (P.O.), you could be thrown in jail. What if you do not have money to see your P.O.? That’s a charge. What if you illegally ride the bus or train to try to meet with your P.O. That’s another charge. What what can you do? The Justice System is designed to keep you in; it’s designed to make sure you never succeeded in life.

Waiting to see Patrol Officers

The waiting room is extremely hot, and many of the formerly incarcerated were becoming irritated. Many of them wait for long periods of time and no one ever comes to the front desk. When they knock on the window to get the workers attention they are told to “calm down and take a seat.” They were calm. They are talked down upon as if they are children. I asked if they were always treated this way and they said yes. This is sad to see, and it needs to change.

Like this:

Beep, beep, beepThis what I hear as I stare out of the window Onto the streets of this cityThis city is D.C.

This city is loudThis loud city Is unfairThis city is richBut also poorFor all its beautyThere’s ugliness too

The sounds of this city are not for meThe construction trucks, with their loud roars and clashes,Are not for meThey’re not for anything like meNot my skin color, or my hair textureNot for my disability, nor my many abilities

Beep, beep, beepI hear againAs I stare out of the window Onto the streets of this cityD.C. is the nameGod I hate this lovely city

It’s no secret that many, if not all Christian, pick and choose what they want to practice from the Bible without even noticing it. I can’t speak on behalf of those of European decent, but my People of Color can probably relate. You know how that sweet and God fearing–which I’ve learned that God fearing means respect, honestly, and loyal rather than actual fear–Granny always tell you not to lie because God doesn’t like it. How do you expect me to follow the words of the Bible when 1) we go to all you can eat buffet (which is gluttony), and 2) you’re stuffing chicken in your purse (which is theft). So, although we are going against the Bible in many ways, we still use it to justify our actions and criticize the actions of others. But in cases like Kim Davis, is she using the Bible to justify her actions against opposing actions, or is she acting out the power that she has over people?

For those who don’t know, Davis is an appointed Kentucky County Clerk who refused to issue marriage licences to those wishing to marry someone of the same sex, all in the name of religion. Being a Christian woman myself, I do have the same beliefs as Ms. Davis. However, I don’t believe in dehumanizing anyone based on the decisions that they make. I also would not be working in a position that will cause me to do something against my religious beliefs. Why not step down? How Davis carried out this event leaves men to think that she’s not doing this in the name of Christianity, which actually tells us to uphold the laws of the land. Davis is doing this because of her status; she knows that she cannot be fired, which gives her power over a very important part of the LGBTQ community. Davis is using Christianity as an excuse for her abuse of power. Like i said before, I believes that men should not be with men, and women should not be with women; however, the bible also speaks of “Free Will.“Also, God doesn’t want us to put ourselves in positions that goes against his will, so in that case, Kim Davis needs to step down.

Like this:

It’s sad that a woman can’t walk down the street without a man driving pass you in his car and calling out, “hey baby. ” it makes me sick. Just the other day me and my coworkers, who are all women, were walking down the street during out lunch break and a group of guys were saying “hey green pants. Hey red shirt. ” I hate that. What’s even worse is that most of them were older guys, like 35 and up. What a perfect example to set for splurge young men.

Another things is that they curse you out when you turn them down, saying things like, “I didn’t want to talk to your ugly a** anyway. ” If that was true, then why approach me in the first place. This needs to stop. Young men, do not follow after those old guys who just stand on the corner and degrade women. This behavior is that of a boy. If you are a man, then act like one, respect women, and when you see this type of behavior taking place please don’t join in.

Like this:

One late evening, I was coming home from class, which was from 6pm-10pm. I waited for the bus at Brookland station as I always did when two guys came next to me and giggled. As I always did in these cases, I paid them no mind. When we got on the bus they kind of brushed passed me as if they were in a hurry. I just quietly took my seat on the back of the bus, and the guys did not say anything to me the entire time. Around 10:45 I got off the bus about three blocks from my house to go to the 7/11. The two guys got off behind me and started making vulgar remarks. One guy said, “can we have that *****. Are you going to give it to us or do we have to take it? Show us how juicy that ***** is.” I had my earplugs in and pretended that I didn’t hear them. The bus driver who got off the bus with us said nothing the whole time.

I continued to walk towards the 7/11 and the guys just followed. At this point, I was worried. I’ve been harassed before on the streets, but never followed like this with such language. I picked up my pace and finally reached the 7/11. I went inside, made my transaction, and left out still fearing the worse. I picked up my cell and called my grandma just to have someone on the phone with me while I walk to my house.

This is everyday life. As a women, just simply walking down the street, especially at night, is extremely dangerous.There is a video of a women walking the streets of New York, and almost every guy she walks pass makes catcalls, and one follows her.

Many have commented on the YouTube video stating that “Women are much less likely to be the victims of violent crime. So that’s pretty much bull****.” Or, some have said that “After reading this and seeing how she thinks compliments are harassment, it shows the kind of person she really is.” Compliments? This is what’s wrong with our society. How can anyone call these compliments? Another person even said that it wasn’t harassment because some of the men said “God bless you.” Really people? Words and phrases have many meanings. I can only imagine the dirty thoughts behind those words. What makes it worse is that most of the comments were by women who were trying to justify the actions of those men.

As women, we should stand together and not give the OK to this behavior. As long as we say it’s OK, then men will continue to act this way and, sadly, another women could end committing suicide, being raped, or murdered.